Raymond Ronamai

Wild price swings caused by a volatile rupee sapped Indian buying interest in gold in the fourth quarter of 2011, with imports well short of expectations and no pick up expected this year, dropping it behind China for the first time.

Greece expressed hope it was within days of finally securing a 130-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout to ease its debt crisis but markets reacted sceptically on Thursday as acrimony grew between Athens and eurozone partners led by Germany.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday Iran's announcement of new nuclear achievements was exaggerated and meant to fend off action against the Islamic republic.

Gold demand struck 14-year highs in 2011, driven by record investment, buying in China, which could overtake India this year as the world's top consumer, and central bank purchases, which hit their highest in at least 40 years, according to a report on Thursday.

Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the eurozone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

Thai investigators believe they have found a link between this week's bomb blasts in Bangkok and New Delhi, a senior security official said on Wednesday, two of three botched attacks Israel has blamed on Iran.

Proview Technology, the Chinese firm embroiled in a legal battle with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) over the iPad name, said on Wednesday that Chinese customs authorities had told it that any ban on the import or export of the popular tablet PCs would be difficult to impose due to the sheer size of the market.

Syrian government forces launched an offensive on the city of Hama early on Wednesday, firing on residential neighborhoods from armored vehicles and mobile anti-aircraft guns, opposition activists said.

Talks between Yahoo Inc and China's Alibaba Group over the U.S. Internet giant's Asian assets have hit an impasse, throwing their plans for a $17 billion tax-free asset swap into question, according to sources briefed on the situation.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell just short of pulling off another thrilling run chase as his team fought out a dramatic tie with Sri Lanka in the fifth triangular series match at Adelaide on Tuesday.

India's determination to pursue trade with Iran despite Western sanctions could be undermined as wary exporters back away from fresh deals following a bomb attack in New Delhi blamed on Tehran, a trade association chief said on Tuesday.

No Indian government will ever censor social media, Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said, seeking to calm fears of a China-style crackdown on companies like Google and Facebook.

A man thought to be Iranian was seriously wounded in Bangkok on Tuesday when a bomb he was carrying exploded and blew one of his legs off, police and a government spokeswoman said.

An Israeli diplomatic vehicle was attacked today in New Delhi, injuring four, including the wife of an Israeli defense representative working at the Embassy. The perpetrator reportedly used the same method of attack - detonating an explosive device that had been attached magnetically to the vehicle.

India's headline inflation slowed to its lowest level in more than two years in January as food prices fell, sparking hopes that the RBI will start cutting interest rates sooner rather than later to battle the country's economic slowdown.

Apple Inc plans to announce a fourth-generation version of its iPad (4G iPad) in the first week of March, a Wall Street Journal report said, citing a person briefed on the matter.

Lips locked at all times - including for bathroom breaks and meals - is the less than romantic challenge facing Thai couples trying for the kiss to blow away all kisses at a Valentine's Day marathon.

The BSE Sensex edged 0.14 percent higher after a choppy trading session on Monday, as hopes of stability in Greece improved global risk appetite and offset weak corporate earnings at home. Hopes of Greek austerity deal boosted the market.

Syrian forces resumed their bombardment of the city of Homs on Monday after Arab countries called for U.N. peacekeepers and pledged their firm support for the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad.

Apple Inc raised the stake in an intensifying global patent battle with Samsung Electronics by targeting the latest model using Google's fast growing Android software, a move which may affect other Android phone makers.

Microsoft India's retail website was down on Monday after an apparent hack, with a purportedly Chinese group called Evil Shadow Team posting doctored screenshots that seemed to be of partially obscured customers' usernames and passwords.

Greeks swept rocks and broken glass from the streets of Athens on Monday after a night of violence that gave lawmakers a taste of the challenge they face in implementing a deeply unpopular austerity bill demanded by the country's foreign lenders. The bill was the price of a 130 billion euro EU/IMF bailout to save Greece from a chaotic default next month.

Soul singer Adele triumphed in her return to music's stage on Sunday at the Grammy Awards 2012, scooping up six Grammys and winning every category in which she was nominated including album of the year for 21 and best record with Rolling In the Deep.

Black-masked protesters throwing petrol bombs created a wall of fire on Sunday outside Greece's parliament as lawmakers inside looked set defy public rage by endorsing a new austerity deal to secure an EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy.

A few months ago economists were all but certain the U.S. economy would slow sharply at the start of this year, with many warning that recession risks were growing.

Greek lawmakers looked set to agree to a deeply unpopular bailout deal on Sunday to avert what Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned would be economic chaos, and Germany demanded Greece dramatically change its ways to stay in the euro.

Gautam Gambhir's 92 at the top and some smart batting by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the finish helped India chase down a 270-run target against Australia in Adelaide on Sunday for their second win in the triangular series.

Whitney Houston, whose soaring voice lifted her to the top of the pop music world but whose personal decline was fueled by decades of drug use, died on Saturday in a Beverly Hills hotel room. She was 48. The cause of death is under investigation.

Security researchers said they found vulnerability in the Google Inc mobile payments platform which is currently available in phones sold by Sprint Nextel Corp. They said that Google Wallet has security risk.